Knot Just Macrame by Sherri Stokey: bead soup

Showing posts with label bead soup. Show all posts

March 25, 2017

Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal - Bead Hoarders Edition

It's finally here! I've been dying to show you this piece for some time now and had to keep it a big secret until today! The lovely Lori McDaniel Anderson is once again hosting a Bead Soup blog party and this time it's the Hoarders Edition (which is pretty appropriate for me). I was paired up with Amy Severino who sent me a beautiful fused glass pendant (by Jody Peterson) she'd been hoarding along with a pretty selection of beads:

Amy said she'd had this pendant in her stash for almost seven years and had looked at it hundreds of times with grand intentions but the piece just never made it to her beading table. She said she was a little sad to part with it, but she's a big fan of Lori's swaps and hops so in the spirit of the party she sent it. I'm sure hoping she likes what I did with her treasure.

I'm really not sure why the pendant read "spring flower" to me - maybe it was the sparks of pink and green in the glass. You know macrame is my thing, but to be a little daring I tried a sort of 3-D flower, then attached it to a ring to hold the pendant. It seemed to be missing something, so I added some macrame leaves (with the sparkly little beads down the centers) and presto!

This necklace is definitely out of my comfort zone, but I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Many thanks to Amy for the pendant and inspiration and to Lori for hosting these inspirational hops that bring so many artists together. Here's a peek at what I sent to Amy:

Amy's blog is at Amybeads - I can't wait to see what she did with the cute little Marla James owl I sent to her. I've loved this little guy for ages but just haven't ever found the right project for him.

I hope you'll join me to see what everyone else has made. Lori will have the list of participants up here. Happy hopping!!

March 24, 2015

SpongeBob to Micro Macrame in 3 Easy Steps

You might be wondering what this picture has to do with macrame. How is she going to get from biker SpongeBob (in his pajamas) to this:

Multiple strand macrame necklace by Sherri Stokey of Knot Just Macrame.

Stick with me for a minute and I'll get you there. So... you might have noticed somewhere along the way (if you've followed my work for five minutes or more) that I have a slight obsession with turquoise and sandy colors paired with beach themes. This week I mixed up a little bead soup for inspiration, then dug around for some buttons to coordinate. I found one really pretty button in the softest turquoise color, but the rest were just metal tones - mostly brass. I added some color with Vinaj patinas so now they go perfectly (in my humble opinion, and since it's my blog... well, you get the picture).

Turns out this is the perfect mix for multiple strand necklaces with everything I love!

Multiple strand macrame necklace by Sherri Stokey.

Multiple strand macrame necklace with nautilus shell button closure.

Then yesterday when I was trying to take some photos for this post, Carter plopped himself down in my lap and announced "me!".

See the little fingers pointing at his "me"?

Since we all know I'm putty in his hand, I put off the "real" photos and instead we took pictures of SpongeBob and dirt bikes. And that's how you get from A to B in the ridiculousless that is my life - I wouldn't have it any other way!

Turqouise and tan knotted macrame necklace and color palette.

May 10, 2014

It's PARTY Time! Bead Soup Blog Party 8 Reveal

Micro macrame necklace by Sherri Stokey of Knot Just Macrame with Gaea ceramic pendant.

It's finally here - the big reveal for Lori Anderson's 8th Bead Soup Blog Party!! This is an event jewelry makers like myself anxiously await all year. It's like the Thanksgiving of handcrafted jewelry where you can gorge on images of beautiful pieces until you can't stand it anymore. It's like mardi gras and New Year's rolled into one. Can you tell I'm excited? If you're not familiar with the concept (Bead Soup Blog Party, not parties in general), it's pretty simple: our hostess-with-the-mostess, Lori Anderson, assigns partners from the massive list of participants; the pairs exchange "bead soup" consisting of a focal, clasp and a few coordinating beads; each designer makes something using at least the focal and clasp (they don't have to be used in the same piece); and then we have a party! This is where you get to see all the amazing things everyone has made.

This year I was paired with Marianna Boylan of Star Girl Jewelry & Lampwork Glass Designs. I did this blog post all about her, in case you missed it. She sent this gorgeous "soup" for me:

Marianna made the lampwork bead and that photo doesn't really do it justice. I'll give you a closer look:

Lampwork by Marianna Boylan of Star Girl Jewelry

Isn't it beautiful!?! I really wanted to use it in my piece this year and I think I just tried too hard. I had an idea in my head and I just couldn't get it to translate into reality. I spent hours on it and it just didn't do justice to that focal. Lori did a blog post about the time I was struggling with it called Don't Be Afraid of the Do-Over, do I decided to take her advice. I thought I would try my luck with the other focal Marianna sent, the ceramic mermaid pendant by Gaea, so I pulled out some cord and beads and came up with a palette.

Purple palette of c-lon nylon bead cord and beads with ceramic mermaid pendant by Gaea

And this happened.

Knotted micro macrame necklace by Sherri Stokey.

My mermaid goddess. I'm really excited about this piece. I messed with a few different design elements and I think the piece has flow and movement.

Close up of knotted cord spiral micro macrame.

All the flow and all the movement brings the eye back to the star of the show, the mermaid pendant.

Micro macrame necklace by Sherri Stokey with mermaid ceramic pendant by Gaea.

Want to see more? You can check out my reveals for the 6th Bead Soup Blog Party and the 7th Bead Soup Blog Party or you can hop over to Lori's Bead Soup Blog Party page where she has the entire list (almost 500 participants!) of blogs to visit. I don't know about you, but I plan on visiting every one of them. It might take me a few days, but I'll get there! Happy Hopping!

March 17, 2014

My Partner for the 8th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party

I don't know if you know this, but Lori Anderson hosts the party of the year for jewelry designers/bloggers - the Bead Soup Blog Party. Seriously. I'd been following her parties before I started this blog and was always so envious because it looked like everyone was having so much fun. Once I'd started this blog, the first thing I did was to sign up for her next part and I haven't missed one since.

My partner this year is Marianna Boylan of Star Girl Jewelry. She says she does some wire work and some polymer work and a "whole lot of glass". I did a little stalking and boy, does she make some pretty things. She gave me permission to swipe a couple photos to share with you, so feast your eyes on these:

And you know how I am about beach things, so you can guess how I feel about this set:

Then I found this clasp and thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

Lampwork toggle clasp by Marianna Boylan

You can find more of her work in her Etsy shop, too. So what kind of bead "soup" does one send to someone as multi-talented as Marianna. Good question. We chatted for a bit and when she mentioned she loves owls, I knew I had the perfect thing.

Bead Soup for the 8th Annual Bead Soup Blog Party hosted by Lori Anderson

The ceramic owl is from SuzieQBeads and I thought it would make a great focal for Marianna. I added a couple of choices for the clasp - an over-sized brass lobster clasp and a flame painted copper toggle from OregonMadeJewelry. Then I filled out the soup with an eclectic assortment of beads with everything from Swarovski crystals and pearls to Czech glass and gemstones. And, of course, everything is in shades of teal and turquoise with bits of tan and caramel because those are my very favorite colors. This is a soup I would send my very best friend. Heck, it's a soup I'd love to keep myself!

And remember that first micro macrame owl I made and said it was a gift? I made it for Marianna.

Bead Soup with ceramic owl and micro macrame owl from Sherri Stokey

My soup from her should be arriving any day now, and the mail carrier will probably get sick of seeing me at the mailbox until then. I can't wait to see what she sent and I can't wait to see what she makes from the soup I sent to her. The big reveal for the Bead Soup Blog Party is May 3rd, 2014, so mark your calendars. If you want to know more about the party, Lori has all the details.

If you just can't stand it and you need something to tide you over until the reveal, you can review last year's party. I was paired with the uber talented Julie Cannon of Studio Juls and you can see what I did with her gorgeous lampwork beads and the rest of what she sent me here.

April 13, 2013

7th Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

Handmade fringe bracelet by Sherri Stokey of Knot Just Macrame with Juli Cannon lampwork focal

Yay! Today is the day I can show you what I made from the fantastic bead soup my partner Juli Cannon sent me! Do you remember what everything looked like? You can go here and read more about everything she sent if you'd like, but I'll give you a hint:

Bead soup from Juli Cannon with black and tan lampwork

I have been wanting to try a different fringe technique for a while and Juli's lampwork focal was the perfect piece. I used several colors of seed beads and made billions of loops (okay, you got me... I didn't count and there might not be quite a billion, but there are lots).

Close up of bead weaving fringe seed beads

And after all that work, the clasp didn't look right. Well, shoot. So I stewed around on it for a week or so and decided the only solution was to make my own using some of the matching lampwork beads.

Close up of handmade clasp with clapwork beads

It's simple, but it works and it doesn't distract from the rest of the piece. That's a win in my book.

Of course, that meant I had to make another piece to use the clasp, since the rules say you must use at least the focal and the clasp. I sketched out a sort of funky necklace and it actually came together just like I'd hoped. That never happens.

Black and tan necklace by Sherri Stokey of Knot Just Macrame

And what's even better? This piece can double as a wrap bracelet. In fact, I think I like it better as a bracelet!

Many thanks to my partner, Juli, for the great beads I used in these pieces AND the second set she sent just for me:

Lampwork glass beads by Juli Cannon of Studio Juls

And heaps more thanks to our gracious hostess, Lori Anderson, the mastermind behind the whole Bead Soup phenomenon. She does an amazing job at bringing together a talented group of jewelry designers - 541 designers from 28 countries! With so many folks eager to participate, she had to split us up into three reveal dates to keep things manageable. Hop on over to Lori's blog where she has a list of ALL of the other participants: here. Oh, and don't forget to check out Juli's page to see what she did with the soup I sent to her. Happy hopping!!

March 7, 2013

7th Bead Soup Blog Party - Soup's On!

If you make jewelry, you've probably heard of Lori Anderson's Bead Soup Blog Parties, and if you haven't, you're missing out. Lori explains it best, of course, but in a nutshell, a whole bunch of bead enthusiasts get paired up and send one another a "bead soup" consisting of at least a focal, a clasp and a few coordinating beads. Then each person must make something using at a minimum the focal and the clasp. I love to see all the different soups - there really are endless possibilities. Then seeing how those soups are transformed fascinates me.

I have been partnered with the lovely and talented Juli Cannon. This woman has some mad talent. She makes lampwork beads AND does bead embroidery and bead weaving and jewelry design. Her work is incredible. Pop over to her blog, Studio Juls and take a look around. You'll can thank me later.

So that gorgeous soup up there? THAT'S what arrived in my mailbox the other day. My eyes rolled completely back in my head, I swear. Just look at that focal. Juli made it to go with the dalmatian jasper beads - isn't that spiffy!? She made the round lampwork beads with the swirls, too.

lampwork beads by juli cannon of Studio Juls

And if all that wasn't enough? She sent me another set just because!

green and aqua lampwork beads by juli cannon of Studio Juls

I am so in love with this set there aren't words. My very favorite colors all rolled in together. I just want to carry them around petting them all day.

And, because obviously Juli is an all or nothing kind of gal, she put in some Czech glass buttons for me to take her package past "over the top" and right to "out of the park".

I sent Juli a soup with a crazy lace agate with gray and yellows for the focal. The porcelain owl bead is there just because I thought he was cute and matched the assorted glass seed beads and the mix of stone, recycle glass, Czech and Greek ceramic beads. I put in a couple of different clasps - one metal and then one made of tagua nut.

Bead soup from Sherri Stokey with agate focal, owl bead, tagua nut clasp

This is the second time I've been able to participate , so if you're looking for something to do while you wait for this reveal, you can read about last year's here. Be sure to come back on March 30th to see what I make with Juli's beads. Oh, and if you want an endless supply of eye candy, check out the list of participants and their blogs on Lori's blog here.

October 21, 2012

Kalmbach Bead Soup Party Reveal

Kalmbach Books is having a Bead Soup Party to celebrate the release of Lori Anderson's book Bead Soup and I was lucky enough to be chosen to participate. I received this great soup from Boston Bead Company. Check out that octopus! How cool is he! I will confess, though, that I received this package almost a month ago and it has taken me quite a while to decide exactly what to do with these components. I'm just not a "gold" girl and the raw brass of the octopus was throwing me. I love silver and copper and brass, but gold? Not so much. What's a girl to do? Well, if you're me and you've been painting lucite flowers with your Vintaj patinas (here, if you missed it), you paint him. Boy, did it take a lot of nerve to do that first blotch of color, because I knew there was no going back!

First I hit him with some sponged on blue patina, and then I added some of my new bronze. I decided he needed to look cruddier (go figure - spellcheck says that's a word!), so I went over him with some black and brown antiquing. Then just to bring out some highlights, I sanded him off a bit. I'm thrilled with the results. NOW he looks like a denizen of the deep. A monster from the deepest part of the ocean.

I decided to add a few freshwater pearls into the bead mix because I figure my Denizen deserves some sea-type treasure. I made some links from all the beads at random and then used several different sizes of jump rings to string them all together. I made a hook clasp with a freeform movement (inspired by tentacles!) and hit it with a little patina in keeping with the theme. (Well, that and I seem to be obsessed with patinas, but I digress...)

Anyway, without further ado:

Did I mention I added a Vintaj starfish?

Many thanks to Kalmbach Books and to Boston Bead Company for allowing me to play!

September 13, 2012

In The Pink

As a little tribute to Lori to thank her for all her hard work, a group of us decided to have a little "in the pink" fun. Lori, this is for you:

And why, you might ask, do I have pink in my hair? Read on:

Lori Anderson of Pretty Things is a dynamo and an inspiration to many of us in the "beading" world. She's a mom, jewelry designer, published author and the creator of the Bead Soup Blog Party. In fact, Lori is pretty much the reason I have this blog. I wanted to be able to participate in the Bead Soup Party and I was inspired by her encouragement of newbie bloggers like myself. I must say, she was incredibly kind and seemed to genuinely care about each participant in her party this year - which is a massive undertaking when you think about having 400 designers involved! I had a lot of fun doing the challenge (you can find my reveal post here) and it really got me off on the right foot for both blogging and beading challenges. And, so you will understand the pink hair, this is Lori:

Lori Anderson

Lori has written a book called Bead Soup that was just published. How fun does this sound: "What happens when one energetic, well respected jewelry-making blogger and 26 talented beaders connect through social media and end up swapping their leftovers? You get a mélange of projects bursting with every flavor imaginable! Each designer was given a focal bead, a unique clasp, and coordinating beads, and was charged with creating a dynamic piece of jewelry. These artists push their own boundaries to come up with new combinations and original pieces." You can order the book through her website Pretty Things

I don't know when she finds time to do everything. My hat's off to her! Check out the rest of the "In the Pink" participants:

Gail Vanderster-Zwang http://angelmoose.blogspot.com
Lea Avroch http://lajewelrydesign.blogspot.com
Leslie Wayment http://www.aabeadsonline.com/blog
Kelley Katherine Hagerty-Fogle http://www.mylifeonebeadatatime.blogspot.com
Sheila Davis http://www.stonedesignsbysheila.blogspot.com
Amanda Effron http://craft-o-licious.blogspot.com
‎Solange Collin http://www.blog.ahowinjewelry.com
Jennifer Chasalow VanBenschoten   http://www.vanbeads.blogspot.com
Isolina Perez http://IsolinaPerez.blogspot.com
Toltec Jewels www.JewelSchoolFriends.com
Sherri Stokey http://www.knotjustmacrame.com You are here!
Mary Howell Govaars http://mlhjewelrydesigns.com
Bee Kuhlman http://mixedmayhemstudios.blogspot.com
Lynnea Perry Bennett   http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com
Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca
Heather Otto http://www.thecrafthopper.com
Kimberly Flood http://www.goddessesandbeads.blogspot.com
Courtney White Breul http://beadsbybreul.blogspot.com
Lisa Liddy http://lisaliddy.wordpress.com
Marlene Cupo http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com
Marianne Baxter http://www.simplyseablimejewelry.blogspot.com
Mária Horváth   http://horimarikabeads.blogspot.hu
Andrea Beth Trank www.heavenlanecreations.com
Heidi Mansfield Kingman  http://mybeadtherapy.blogspot.com
Emoke Schmidt http://emoke1.blogspot.com
Sandra MrtzDiaz www.petaloazuljewelry.blogspot.com
Lupe Meter http://gesmpccorner.blogspot.com
Tanya Boden http://fusionmusebangkok.blogspot.com
Ambra Chicandfrog http://chicandfrog.wordpress.com
Kumi Fisher http://maliekaidesigns.blogspot.com
Sandra Young http://blog.gypsyroadbeads.ca
Sandi Marinaro Volpe http://www.sandivolpe.com
Gretchen Nation http://www.artfoodlodging.blogspot.com
Mimi Gardner http://www.othercuriosities.blogspot.com
Marian Hertzog http://mhertzog-msplace.blogspot.com
Sonya Ingersoll-Stille http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com
Audrey Belangér http://esperianterra.blogspot.com
Sandra McGriff http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com
Shelley Graham Turner http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com

July 27, 2012

Bead Soup Blog Party Reveal

So, today is the big reveal for the first group of participants in the 6^th Bead Soup Blog Party and I’m one of ‘em:) Do you remember the “bead soup” my partner Nicole Rennell sent me? Just in case you need a little refresher, here is the photo again:

It’s a very cool soup – very vibrant. I wanted to do something less obvious that stringing. Something that would transform the components just a bit more. I actually tried to sketch a few ideas (stop laughing at me – sketching is not my strong suit). I considered making a neck wire covered in beads hanging from wire wrapped loops or a bead weaving piece covered in beaded fringe on one side or a bead embroidery collar piece shaped like a rounded “V” with the focal at the center front. You're laughing again, I can tell.

I ended up going for an idea using bead embroidered circles strung together and I started on the circles:

Tedious work, that. But I managed to stitch a few circles, back them in micro-suede and edge them with black cubes:

Then I started laying them out in the arrangement I had in my head and ended up with something that looked like a muppet with googley eyes and a big nose:

Thank goodness a friend suggested switching the arrangement and putting the smaller circles next to the focal piece (thanks, Rose!). A few of the crystal and blue beads in between the circles and ta da....

I tried using the clasp in the same piece (by this point, I was all about trying to get finished one way or another) but it just didn't look right. No matter how hard I tried:) Since the necklace was so busy, I decided a coordinating bracelet would have to be simple and I went with some beads simply strung and used the clasp as a focal. I added a few crystal beads dangling at one side for a bit of movement.

And thus ends the saga of my first participation in the Bead Soup Blog Party. Many, many thanks to Lori Anderson for hosting the party. I hope you will take time to visit the rest of the folks doing this reveal - and don't forget to stop back on August 11th and August 25th for the rest of the reveals. What a party!!!

Hostess, Lori Anderson, PrettyThingsBlog.com

Alice Craddick, Alice's Beads and Baubles

Alicia Marinache, All The Pretty Things

Amanda Tibbetts, Amanda Made

Amber Dawn Goldish, Inventive Soul

Annita Wilson, AW Jewelry

Beti Horvath, Stringing Fool

Birgitta Lejonklou, Create With Spirit

Candida Castleberry, Spinning Spun Sugar

Carolyn Lawson, Carolyn's Creations

Cassie Donlen, Glass Beadle

Cheri Reed, Creative Designs by Cheri